Wake-Up Weather: Houston to remain in a wet, temperate pattern for awhile

Your sunrise summary of everything you need to know about weather in H-town.

4cast·in·5seconds

Like yesterday, a chance of morning waterspouts over coastal waters and afternoon thunderstorms inland.

run·down

A tropical air mass moving in from the Gulf clashed with dry air over Texas on Tuesday, and the result was some disturbed weather, including waterspouts over coastal waters.

Water spout near Texas City. (Nicole Loukanis)

The tropical air also produced scattered showers, and in what’s the beginning of a pattern that could hang around for awhile, expect more rain today and the possibility of more waterspouts, say forecasters with the Houston/Galveston office of the National Weather Service.

As weak tropical disturbances move inland over the next few days expected the greatest chance of rain during the daytime, and although rainfall accumulations were heaviest near the coast on Tuesday, greater amounts should be possible further inland today and later this week.

Our decent rain chances should hang around through the weekend as the overall pattern of an open Gulf of Mexico — that is to say a Gulf whose ample flow of moisture is not blocked — appears unlikely to change for awhile. The clouds and rain chances should act to keep temperatures near seasonal norms, or in the the low- to mid-90s and and low- to mid-70s.

Sure beats a large area of high pressure late in August, if you ask me.

trop·ics

The tropics are quiet, but some models continue to indicate the development of tropical waves, shown below, set to move off African during the next several days.

Natural color image of tropical waves over Africa. (EUMETSAT)

There appear to be no immediate threats to the United States during the next week or so, however.

high·ku

“95″

Antonio Smith

Gets hot and bothered in game

Now will sit out three

final·fact

Good news! Today the average high in Houston falls from 95 to 94 degrees, marking the first downward trend in daily highs since January.

That is a good picture of the mid-Africa showing the tropical waves. I have two questions pls:

If you took snapshots of the same area over the last 30 days, how many days would look close to this picture?

If the current picture is or is not indicative of the last 30 days too, what Atlantic conditions over the last 30 days are diff now [wind shear, increases or decreases in water temperatures, wind flow directions, etc.] that would assist in both propagating and intensifying tropical systems?